Miami Law News Headlines: July 2014

Week of July 28-1

(Posted: 07-29-14)Three students from Miami Law - Solomon Schoonover, Cameron Green, and Elyssa Luke - along with students from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, recently participated in a month-long summer course “Water Resources: Science, Law, and Policy” in Vietnam and China. The international course was organized and led by Professor of Marine Ecosystems and Society and Miami Law Adjunct Professor Daniel Suman. The students studied environmental law and environmental science and policy, and spent two weeks in Vietnam before traveling to Yunnan Province, China where they studied for two more weeks.

(Posted: 07-29-14)Armed with a Miami Law degree and a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of North Carolina, Betsy Haven continues in her mission to reform healthcare in the United States. Currently working as a staff attorney at Disability Rights California (DRC) in Los Angeles, Havens is helping people with disabilities gain access to health care.

(Posted: 07-29-14)Once again this year, the Professional Responsibilities & Ethics Program (“PREP”) presented a CLE ethics training to the Miami-Dade County Public Defender’s Office. The training was uniquely tailored to address growing legal ethical issues that arise as a result of social media’s heavy infiltration into the criminal law sector. Led by Program Director Jan L. Jacobowitz, students Alexis Alvarez, Alexandra Friz, and Christina Margolles discussed various ethical implications that public defenders and other criminal attorneys face due to technological advances that have proliferated the legal profession. Many of the issues were discussed in the context of using evidence in Facebook and Twitter, jury selection, and attorney blogging.

(Posted: 07-16-14) Born in Miami, Florida to parents of Cuban-Argentine origin, William Mueller knew that if he was going to go to law school, it was going to be at Miami Law. Mueller attended Carnegie Mellon for college and received a B.A. in Professional Writing, a B.S. in Decision Science, and a minor in Business Administration. Upon completion of his undergraduate degrees, Mueller transitioned immediately from college to law school – applying only to Miami Law.

Week of July 7-11

(Posted: 07-09-14) Berton Forman, with a 21-year career as an anesthesiologist behind him, was reviewing hospital records for an insurance company for his company, Rockville Recovery Associates Ltd. in 2010. What he discovered was hospitals, by using separate billing codes, were double and triple billing for anesthesiology – once for the doctor and another for the hospital.

(Posted: 07-09-14) When Beth Bloom graduated from Miami Law cum laude in 1988, she had already amassed an impressive array of awards: the Roger Sorino Award as the Outstanding Law School Graduate; Moot Court Board Hall of Fame; Who's Who in American Law Schools; Iron Arrow; Society of Bar & Gavel; American Jurisprudence Award for Appellate Practice & Procedure, among others.

(Posted: 07-09-14) Miami Law’s Professional Responsibility & Ethics Program (PREP) provides a forum for students to interact with attorneys regarding the ethical challenges that confront today’s legal profession. Each year PREP adds a few new venues to its presentation roster. This year, under the guidance of PREP director, Jan Jacobowitz, the JAMS Resolution Center (JAMS) and the Miami-Dade County Attorney’s Office provided new opportunities for PREP.

Week of July 1-4

(Posted: 07-02-14) Hosea Smith had been a Miami-Dade bus driver for over 20 years when he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in February of 2009. In January of 2013, shortly after undergoing his second round of chemotherapy, the 54-year-old applied for Social Security Disability Benefits; his claim was denied twice. Meanwhile, Veterans Administration officials failed to link his leukemia to his military service and, therefore, did not provide him with Veteran Disability Compensation Benefits.

(Posted: 07-02-14) The Charles C. Papy, Jr. Moot Court team of rising 3Ls Leah Aaronson and Daniel Ferrante won the 2014 Robert Orseck Moot Court Competition held in Orlando last week. They competed against all of Florida’s law schools and were named state champions with their final round victory against Stetson School of Law. The Florida Supreme Court Justices scored the final round and selected Leah Aaronson as the best oralist. The team also received the Second Best Brief of the competition.

(Posted: 07-02-14) At the end of a rigorous school day when most law students are fervently closing their casebooks, springing into bed, and turning on their televisions to catch up on the day’s news, the last person they expect to see looking at them from the other side of their screen is one of their classmates.

(Posted: 07-02-14) Ever since being selected as a HOPE Fellow at Miami Law, Steven Vitale has been able to actively apply his passion for public service and pro bono work in the public sector. This summer, Vitale accepted an offer with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) in Washington, D.C. for which Vitale feels the Hope Fellowship Program prepared him well.